Women’s basketball falls to Notre Dame on the road

The luck of the Irish worked against Pitt again.

Wednesday night’s matchup between the… The luck of the Irish worked against Pitt again.

Wednesday night’s matchup between the Pitt women’s basketball team and Notre Dame marked the 12th time that the two squads have gone head to head. And for the 12th time, the Fighting Irish got the better of the Panthers.

Five Irish players scored in double figures as Notre Dame defeated Pitt 77-69 Wednesday night at the Joyce Center.

For the Panthers (11-14 overall, 3-11 Big East), the loss marks their sixth in their last seven games, and puts them in danger of missing the Big East Tournament in March.

With two games remaining, Pitt is currently tied with Providence for 12th place in the Big East Conference. Only the top 12 teams in the Big East qualify to play in the tournament.

Forward Mandy Wittenmyer led the way for the Panthers with 23 points and five rebounds. Wittenmyer went seven-of-12 from the field and a perfect nine-of-nine from the free-throw line. She added two assists and three steals in the losing effort.

Haley Harguth went four-of-10 from three-point range on her way to 19 points, nine of which came in the final minute of the game. Laine Selwyn notched her fifth double double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards, and her six steals put her career total at 219, moving her to fourth place on Pitt’s all-time list.

As a team, Pitt shot 36.8 percent from the field, as compared to a 44.9 percent clip for Notre Dame (16-9, 8-6). The Panthers forced 23 Fighting Irish turnovers, but they could never quite claw back from a 14-point halftime deficit.

The Panthers will travel to Syracuse Saturday for their final road game of the season. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.